


Ship Just Got Real

by phantasmagorical_rilianne



Category: Amazingphil - Fandom, Danisnotonfire - Fandom, Phandom, Shakespeare - Fandom, dan howell/phil lester - Fandom, phanfiction - Fandom
Genre: I promise there'll be a lot of action in the later chapters, I think I got their attention now, It's gonna evolve into a love triangle woohoo, M/M, Smut, drama nerds, it's never gonna happen, no NOT like twilight, probably'll become a LONGGGGGG series if I get enough views haha
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-06 16:17:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5423669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantasmagorical_rilianne/pseuds/phantasmagorical_rilianne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan is a drama geek, and he's cast as one of the main protagonist in the school play "Twelfth Night".<br/>Basically, Twelfth Night is a play about this girl disguised as a boy and she falls in love with a dude. This dude however, thinks she's a dude too so he has no feelings towards her. He is in love with yet another girl, so woohoo love triangleeeeeee<br/>But to make things even more complicated, the girl that the guy likes falls in love with the girl disguised as a boy.<br/>If you didn't understand that, it's actually just: Girl A likes Boy A, Boy A likes Girl B and Girl B likes Girl A.<br/>Yeahhhhhhh...<br/>Watch as the story in the play become reality to Dan and Phil...In reverse.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I described Dan and Phil's appearances according to what they look like now and not what they really looked like during their high school years, cuz I thought you guys would be more familiar with them. So yeah.

The first drama rehearsal of the year was today. Dan had waited three whole months for this. Ever since he had been notified that he was admitted into his school’s drama club, he had been looking forward to the rehearsals. He had a blast last year, and he felt empty, like there was a void in his heart, when there weren’t any practices after school for him to go to.

Though Dan hated performing in front of large crowds without preparation, he absolutely adored being in a play. Being in a play meant that every line, every dialogue was provided for you in advance. You didn’t have to think of what you were going to say next. You didn’t have to worry about making a fool out of yourself. It felt good acting as another character. It meant letting go of yourself, your life, even if it was only temporary. He would eventually have to deal with his shitty life once the show was over.

The bell signaling the end of the day rung. Dan shoved all his belongings into his bag and rushed off to the auditorium. It was where their first rehearsal was going to be held.

He wasn’t the first to arrive. Another boy from his year was already on the stage, pacing back and forth. Dan knew his name was Phil. After all, they had English class together. But they never really talked. They were very different people. And by different, he meant they were like fire and ice. Phil was the type of person who socializes with literally everyone, and he made it seem so easy. Like it never cost him anything. Dan, on the other hand, was the type to keep to himself and never talked to people unless it was absolutely necessary. He just simply couldn’t communicate with people without making an ass out of himself or being an asshole. And he hated himself for it.

Phil noticed Dan. He smiled and waved, saying, “Hey! Didn’t know you were in the club!”

Dan walked over and climbed onto the stage, not even bothering to use the stairs. It had always been more fun to climb like this. “I was in the last few years as well.” He replied.

“Woah! Really? You didn’t strike me as the type to enjoy performing. Anyways, what d’you reckon the play will be about this year?” Phil chirped.

“I dunno, they did Merchant of Venice last year. Maybe some more Shakespeare.”

“What?” Phil blanched, “Isn’t that boring as hell?”

Dan felt something stir inside him. He had a lot of fun last year, and he was really into Shakespeare after that. He had nearly finished reading all of the scripts written by Shakespeare, and he liked a lot of them, especially one titled Much Ado About Nothing. He wasn’t going to let anyone insult his plays like that.

“Actually, they’re not as boring as you think. Most educated people find them very interesting.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to pick a fight, I swear. You must really like his plays, right?” Phil smiled apologetically.

Dan was a bit thrown off by this. Most people meeting him the first time would think he was weird, liking Shakespeare and all that. Phil was the first one to take him seriously.

Now it was Dan’s turn to apologize. He knew he was wrong to have been angry at Phil just now. Many people didn’t really understand Shakespeare. He should’ve tried to explain in a more contained manner.

“I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have done that. I mean, Shakespeare is widely thought to be boring. I guess I’m the weird one.”

Phil laughed. “Nah, it makes you seem intellectual. I’ve never seen anyone like Shakespeare before.”

At this moment, a stream of students filed into the auditorium. Dan saw that they were mostly the people from last year, but there were a few new faces…

They were in a single sex school, which meant that there weren’t supposed to be girls. However, there was this brunette that caught Dan’s eye. Dan thought he was a boy, but his features were just so feminine. The porcelain skin, the pink lips, the soft, short hair…

How could any boy manage to look like that? Dan thought. Being that pretty should be made illegal.  
(Ah yes. This reminds me to tell you that Dan Howell here is, in fact, bisexual.)

The drama teacher arrived shortly. She introduced herself as “Miss Penelope” and started by saying, “Hey, and welcome to the drama club. I recognize a few of you—“ She smiled at Dan and a few others.

“So, as you probably know, we are going to compete in the International Shakespeare Festival six months later. It is a really serious competition, and I hope that each and every one of you will put in your largest effort,” Miss Penelope said sternly. “It doesn’t really matter if we win or not, but it’s the experience you get. We really hope that during these six months, you will find your confidence and start to believe in your abilities. But we won’t be able to do that if you didn’t try hard enough in the first place.” She looked around the room solemnly. However, her smile returned in the blink of an eye. “Right guys! We have already casted you as different characters during the auditions. Viola, the main female protagonist, is going to be played by Phillip Lester.”

“Okay.”

Phil accepted this more swiftly than Dan had anticipated. He had expected a newbie like him to make a huge scene about how they didn’t want to be a girl. But he guessed the people that went for the auditions were generally more open-minded.

“The other female protagonist, Olivia, is going to be played by Sebastian.”

The brunette Dan noticed earlier jumped and looked up. He then said in a voice that was barely above a whisper, “Thanks.”

“Dan, you were cast as the male protagonist Orsino this time. I really liked your performance last year.”

Miss Penelope smiled at Dan. He was happy that he got to be one of the main characters again this time, but he was a bit nervous as well. That meant he had to go all lovey-dovey with another boy. But he did it before in the production of Romeo and Juliet. He supposed he could pull it off. Moreover, Phil seemed nice enough.

The list of characters when on and on and on. When they were finally finished, the teacher told them to get in a circle and start the read-through. (A read-through is the first reading of the script) As the students were getting their scripts out, Dan realized he had forgotten to bring them to school. He knew the teacher wouldn’t have any spare copies, and she would just tell him to share with another person. And he didn’t want to admit his mistake the first time they had a rehearsal. He was scared the others would laugh at him.

Phil was sat next to him, and so he muttered under his breath, “I’m sorry, but I forgot to bring the script today. Do you mind sharing with me?” Phil put the pieces of paper between them without hesitating. It was strange, Dan thought, having to share something with a person I barely even know. I wonder if he’s judging me for not even being able to do something so simple like bringing the script to the first rehearsal.

Dan wanted to disappear. He couldn’t believe he was causing so much trouble to a person the first time they had any interaction.

The words on the paper were unbelievably small. Dan had to sit close to Phil so he could see the tiny letters. Dan didn’t like being touchy with people, but he had to. Their shoulders were touching, and Dan was really uncomfortable with this. It was mainly because he was scared that Phil would mind.

Dan was greatly relieved when the reading started. He could lose himself entirely in the world of Shakespeare.

“If music be the food of love, play on…”


	2. Date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... Dan and Phil go on a 'date'. Sorta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's a bit short cuz I don't have a lot of time, but I'll try to upload a longer chapter next time!

The read-through actually went pretty well. People laughed at the overly-affectionate lines, but nobody really cared about the “homo”. It was one of the nice things about the Drama Club. People were generally nice and there weren’t any of the cynical people you would see elsewhere. Dan laughed when he had to pretend to propose to Phil as well. It was the most fun he had in what seemed like decades. He only felt really at ease when he was in the club.

After the read-through, they were free to go home. As Dan was about to walk out of the auditorium, he heard someone call him.

“Hey.”

Phil was walking towards him.

“Hey.” Dan replied, unsure of what to say next. Gosh, he really WAS bad at socializing.

“So…” Phil said, “You know, we’re like the protagonists of the play. And since they let us off early today, do you wanna hang out a bit so we can familiarize ourselves first?”  
He really wanted to say no, because he knew there was a ninety percent chance that he would be totally awkward and end up making Phil hate him. But he knew if he refused now without a valid reason, Phil would probably think he was a douche who was self-centered as fuck. So he just said, “Yeah, why not?”

Phil suggested going to a nearby dessert shop. They sold everything from lava cakes to tong sui, which were a kind of Chinese soup that was sweet. Dan had never tried it before despite having been there on several occasions. He thought it both looked and sounded weird. Soup was supposed to be savory, not sweet!

Dan and Phil sat down at a table near the entrance. The doors were made of glass, so they could see everything happening on the street outside. The shop wasn’t those high-class restaurants, but the desserts were delightful and commendable. Dan asked for treacle tart without even looking at the menu. Phil, however, sat there with the menu in his hands for a good ten minutes before finally settling for something called “black sesame soup”.

Dan was astounded. He couldn’t believe that someone would actually order the sweet soup. “Why would anyone even try that?” Dan asked when the blackish mush arrived.

“Try what?”

“The sweet soup!”

“Oh…” Phil smiled.

When he smiled, Dan noticed, his eyebrows would go up ever so slightly and his lips would become slightly pursed.

“It actually tastes really nice,” Phil said, “It’s not as bad as people would think. Lots of Chinese like it.”

“Ew.”

“I guess my views towards it are sorta like yours towards Shakespeare. Here, try it.”

Dan wasn’t so keen on sharing food with acquaintances. But to stop Phil from jabbing his mouth with the spoon, he had to.

“Okay, okay.” Dan said, defeated. “It’s not bad after all.”

“Right? I knew it!” Phil laughed.

Dan was confused. Most people wouldn’t be so warm the first time they met him. They would generally be less enthusiastic because of Dan’s ‘coolness’(it was actually just because he was too socially awkward), and their conversations would slowly deteriorate into silence after a few exchanges of lame jokes and small talk. Phil seemed to have a never-ending list of conversation starters in his head, and so whenever Dan stopped the conversation from going anywhere by giving monosyllabic answers like “Yes” or “No”, Phil always had something else to talk about.

As they were walking towards the bus stop, Phil was ranting on something about a hamster.

“…are just so cute! You should see the ones I have at home, they’re basically really furry balls of cuteness! Speaking of which, would you want a hamster? Peanut just gave birth to a dozen, and we couldn’t feed them all. I can give you one for free!”

“Uhh…No thanks. I’m fine.”

Dan cursed inwardly for being such an awkward piece of trash. He could have smiled or been a bit more enthusiastic, but instead he just halted the conversation that had been going so well. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be friends with Phil, but he just can’t seem to find a suitable answer. Being sociable just wasn’t his style.

“Are you sure? They’re really cute!”

Dan was baffled again. He didn’t know how Phil could always have a smile that bright on his face. He seemed to know exactly how to reassure Dan, to make him feel less bad about his crappy responses.

“Yeah…”

**Author's Note:**

> I guess I'm going to be sent to Hell after I die for starting this but WHO CARES  
> And yes I know the first chapter was boring AF.  
> BUT ALL THE ACTION HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE STARTING POINT RIGHT  
> RIGHTTTTTTTT  
> THEY'LL BE REALLY SWEET LATER I SWEAR


End file.
